Chronology of World War II

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References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2023 December 20.


1941

October 1
  • The U.S. Secretary of War requests that the U.S. National Academy of Sciences begin research on biological warfare. [51.85]
October 2
  • British Prime Minister Winston Churchill orders the planning of a British invasion of Norway. [439.193]
October 3
  • Adolf Hitler confidently tells the German people that the Soviet Union is virtually defeated. [80.318]
October 5
  • Soviet Premier Josef Stalin receives a radio message from spy Richard Sorge in Tokyo, Japan, that Japan would go to war with the United States soon. Stalin orders twelve divisions (1700 tanks, 1500 planes, 2,500,000 men) from eastern Siberia and Outer Mongolia to come to the defense of Moscow. [277.106]
October 6
  • A large pocket of about 100,000 Soviet forces surrender near Kharkov and the Donets river. [517.1805]
October 7
  • Soviet forces in Vyazma and Bryansk pockets surrender. [517.1793] (October 13 [277.105])
  • The first snow falls on the German/Russian front, but soon melts, followed by heavy rains. [277.105]
October 8
  • American orders are issued to US warships in the Atlantic, to destroy German and Italian sea or air forces encountered. [509.10]
October 10
  • Adolf Hitler issues Directive No. 37. The Army is to go on the defensive in Finland, and prepare to capture Murmansk next year. [149.159]
  • Winston Churchill appoints Captain Lord Louis Mountbatten as Director of Combined Operations, and instructs him to prepare for the invasion of Europe. [54.40] [484.10] [508.1765]
  • Josef Stalin calls Georgi Zhukov back from Leningrad to direct the defense of Moscow. [277.106]
October 11
  • The Spanish Blue Division (Wehrmacht 250th Infantry Division) joins Army Group North, along the west bank of the Volkhov River in Novgorod. [178.521]
October 12
  • British Prime Minister Winston Churchill sends a message to Soviet leader Josef Stalin, suggesting Britain assume responsibility for all of Persia, releasing the six Soviet divisions guarding it. [831.839]
October 15
  • Submarine U-558 torpedoes and sinks Canadian merchant ship Vancouver Island in the North Atlantic. 65 crew members, eight gunners, and 32 passengers die. [27.19]
October
  • Atlantic Convoy SC-52 encounters a group of 20 submarines and turns back due to heavy losses. [27.11]
October 16
  • German Field Marshal Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb of Army Group North launches an offensive toward Kalinin and Tikhvin. [178.522]

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  • In Japan, Prince Fumimaro Konoye resigns his cabinet. War minister General Hideki Tojo becomes new prime minister. [130.46] [444.434] [492.38]
  • Singapore Prime Minister Brooke-Popham reports to the Australian Advisory War Council that the aircraft at Singapore are superior to those of Japan, and that Japan is preoccupied with launching an attack on Russia, and hence would not be able to launch a large-scale attack to the south for the next three months. [439.190]
  • US Admiral Harold Stark, Chief of Naval Operations, sends a message to Pacific commands, warning of "grave situation" created by the fall of the Konoye Cabinet in Japan, that Japan might attack US and British territories. [504.14]
October 17
  • In the Soviet Union, German forces capture Odessa. [416.E5] (October 16 [517.1793])
  • A German submarine torpedoes destroyer USS Kearny, which was escorting a convoy. Eleven American sailors are killed. The ship limps to an American port. [127.6] (sunk in September [617.47])
  • At a meeting of the British Defence Committee, Prime Minister Winston Churchill instructs Admiral Pound to plan to dispatch one modern battleship and an aircraft carrier to join the Repulse in the Indian Ocean. [439.189]
  • Anthony Eden informs the British War Cabinet that Britain should expect trouble from Japan in about three weeks. [439.190]
October 18
  • In Japan, the Tokko police arrest Richard Sorge, head of a Soviet spy ring in Tokyo. (He is executed in 1944.) [444.503]
October 19
  • A state of siege is declared in Moscow. [517.1793]
October 20
  • In Russia, German forces take Mozhaisk, forty miles from Moscow. [166.331]
  • Canada's prime minister William King and war ministers commit two battalions to the defence of Hong Kong. [5.59]
  • Soviet resistance surrounded in Bryansk ceases. Hundreds of thousands of prisoners are taken. [277.105]
October 21
  • Quote by Adolf Hitler: "when Russia collapses and England makes peace it would be only a nuisance to have Japan involved", regarding Japanese reluctance to join the war versus Russia. [492.38]
October 24
  • German forces capture Kharkov. [517.1805]
October 27
  • The Winnipeg Grenadiers and Royal Rifles of Canada sail from Vancouver, British Columbia, heading to Hong Kong, on the military transport Awatea and destroyer HMCS Prince Robert. [5.59] [1.8] [155.27]
October
  • Russian convoys begin in the Pacific Ocean. [27.11]
October 30
  • A German submarine torpedoes American fleet oiler Salinas off the American east coast. The ship is able to limp to a port. [127.6]
October 31
  • German submarine U-562 torpedoes American destroyer USS Reuben James while escorting a British convoy west of Ireland. 115 Americans die. [127.6] [416.E5]
(month unknown)
  • William Stephenson, alias Intrepid, establishes Special Training School 103 near Oshawa, Canada, for training Canadians and Americans for intelligence work. It becomes known as "Camp X". [13.19] [66.59]
November 1
  • The US extends a lend-lease loan of US$1 billion to the Soviet Union. [416.E5]
November 4
  • British Prime Minister Winston Churchill offers to send to Russia General Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-chief India, and General Paget. [831.840]
November 5
  • The Japanese government sends a secret coded message to its diplomats in Washington, D.C., urging an agreement with the American government be signed by November 25. [448.161]
  • The Japanese Emperor makes the final commitment to war. [130.46]
November
  • A large Japanese fleet leaves Japanese ports destined for an attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. [87.80]
November 6
  • Josef Stalin makes a public speech in Moscow, lamenting a second front in Europe, claiming to be fighting a war of liberation single-handedly. [382.11]
November 7
  • (evening) 169 British planes are sent to attack Berlin. Due to bad weather, about half reach their target, and little damage is done. 21 planes do not return. [84.99,343] [831.816]
  • (evening) 55 British planes are sent to attack Mannheim. Seven planes do not return. [84.99]
  • (evening) 43 British planes are sent to attack the Ruhr and to mine waterways. Nine planes do not return. [84.99]
November 13
  • A directive is given to Bomber Command to begin a period of conservative bombing raids, to build up strength for a more effective offensive in the following spring. [84.101] [831.816]
  • (1538 hours) In the Mediterranean, German submarine U-81 fires three torpedoes at British aircraft carrier Ark Royal. One hits the ship below the superstructure, cutting off all communication from the bridge. One crewman dies in the blast. (Twelve hours later the ship sinks.) [124.15] [147.56] [277.132] (November 12 [519.1933]) (September [74.24])
  • In Canada, the M-1000 Committee for researching biological warfare discusses anthrax, plague, typhoid, and cholera as possible directions for offensive weapons. They even discuss the feasibility of dropping infected rats with parachutes on enemy territory. [51.87]
November 14
  • (0613 hours) British carrier Ark Royal rolls over, and sinks. [147.56] (November 15 [831.840])
November
  • In England, authority is given for the establishment of an Airborne Division. [99.36]
  • German submarines are all moved to the Mediterranean Sea in support of Erwin Rommel in North Africa. [27.11]
  • Denmark joins the Anti-Comintern Pact. [401.226]
  • Adolf Hitler meets grand mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini in Berlin. They agree that German occupation of Palestine and other mandated territories would result in annihilation of their Jewish population of about 500,000. [735.24]
November 15
  • German forces in Russia make a final push for Moscow before winter sets in. The German 4th Army makes a frontal assault, while Panzer groups attack toward the north and south-east. [166.331] [277.107] [517.1811]
November 16
  • Canada's Winnipeg Grenadiers and Royal Rifles of Canada arrive in Hong Kong to aid in the defence of the island. Royal Canadian Navy armed merchant cruiser Prince Robert escorted the troop ship Awatea. [5.60] [27.19]
November 18
  • British forces in North Africa launch Operation Crusader, a major effort to take Libya. [277.115] [508.1765] [508.1789]
November 19
  • Tokyo sends a message to its Washington embassy, advising it to listen for a special code radio broadcast on international short-wave news broadcasts. The code "east wind rain" would mean cutting off diplomatic relations with the US. The code "west wind clear" would mean cutting off relations with the British Empire. [376.81]
November 20
  • Japanese Ambassador to the US Nomura, and Suburu Kurusu deliver a diplomatic compromise to Cordell Hull, US Secretary of State in Washington, D.C. The proposal is to not advance by arms into any more regions, withdraw from French Indo-China following peace with China, the US would supply oil to Japan, and the US would restore relations as of prior to the July asset freeze. [448.159]
November 21
  • German Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt's army group seizes Rostov on the Don river. [277.103] [517.1805] (November 22 [517.1793])
November 22
  • The Japanese government sends a secret coded message to its diplomats in Washington, D.C., saying Japanese-American relations must be settled by November 29, "after that things are automatically going to happen". [448.161]
  • Cruiser HMS Devonshire sinks German raider Atlantis while supplying submarine U-126 near Ascension Island. The Atlantis had sunk 22 ships since departing Germany on March 31, 1940. [798.36]
November 24
  • The Soviet Red Army begins a counteroffensive in the Rostov sector. [517.1793]
November 26
  • A Japanese task force of six aircraft carriers, two battleships, and several destroyers and cruisers begins sailing from northern Japan to Hawaii. [166.316] [169.56] [351] [376.83] [439.199]
  • British General Sir Claude Auchinleck replaces Lieutenant General Sir Alan Cunningham with Lieutenant General Sir Neil Ritchie to command the British 8th Army in North Africa. [277.122]
  • British Prime Minister Winston Churchill sends a message to US President Franklin Roosevelt, reminding him of American responsibility for Chinese interests, and to stiffen his resolve in talks with Japan. [439.199]
  • In Washington, D.C., the Secretary of State hands to Japanese Ambassador Nomura a draft proposed agreement between Japan and the US. It proposes both countries agree to have no intention to threaten other countries or use military force aggressively against any neighbor, Japan will leave China and Indochina, and several statements about ensuring fair equal trade. [448.163]
November 27
  • The German Panzer group attacking to the north of Moscow advances within 18 miles of the city. The southern group advances to within 32 miles of Kolomna, sixty miles south-east of Moscow. The offensive is halted by winter weather and Russian counterattacks. [277.107] [517.1793]
  • US Secretary of War Stimson, acting for President Franklin Roosevelt, sends a general war warning to all US commands. US Chief of Naval Operations signals to Atlantic and Pacific fleet commanders "an aggressive move by Japan is expected within the next few days". [130.46] [376.74] [439.199] [504.14]
November 28
  • The US War Cabinet meets, deciding to go to war with Japan if Japan attacks British Malaya, as the Philippines and other US interests would be threatened. [693.1]
  • The Japanese government sends a secret coded message to its ambassadors in Washington, D.C., replying that the US proposed agreement cannot be accepted, but to give the impression of no change in negotiations. [448.169]
  • German submarine U-311 sinks British battleship Barham. [277.132] [831.840] (December [74.25])
  • Quote by Joachim von Ribbentrop to General Oshima, Japanese Ambassador to Berlin: "Should Japan become engaged in a war against the United States, Germany, of course, would join the war immediately.". [492.38]
  • In the Soviet Union, German forces begin withdrawing from Rostov. (This is the first major defeat to Soviet forces.) [517.1793]
November 29
  • Soviet forces begin major counterattacks in the Moscow area. [166.354]
  • The Soviet Red Army launches the first general offensive in the Ukraine. [416.E5]
  • The Soviet Red Army recaptures Rostov. [416.E5]
  • In Germany, Reinhard Heydrich sends out invitations to a conference in Wannsee, to formulate a plan to deal with Jews. [16.4]

End of 1941 October-November. Next: 1941 December.

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A list of references to all source material is available.


Last updated: 2023 December 20.
Copyright © 1998-2024 Ken Polsson (email: ken@kpolsson.com).
URL: http://kpolsson.com/ww2hist/
Link to Ken P's home page.

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